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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
J. Phelps, H. Windsor, H. Takahashi, J. Conant, K. Chandramoleswar
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 49 | Number 3 | November 1972 | Pages 274-300
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A22542
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Measurements using a fast critical assembly were performed in conjunction with the Brookhaven Fast Research Reactor Study. Cores made of highly enriched uranium, stainless steel, and aluminum, reflected mostly by stainless steel were used to obtain broad survey information, and, concurrently, to test the preliminary theoretical model. Quantities measured included critical mass, characteristics of movable reflector blocks, prompt neutron lifetime, worth of materials in potential control positions, neutron yield for a given power, and moderator block characteristics; the first three of these have been compared with calculations.